Ranma A Senshi of Earth
by Sopchoppy
Summary: A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Day After Tommorow Crossover(This story only uses the concept from the movie, not the charecters).
1. Chapter 1 & 2

Ranma – A Senshi of Earth  
  
[A Ranma ½ / Sailor Moon / Day after Tomorrow Crossover]  
  
UPDATED 6/14/04 with Genma's and Cologne's Escape from Tokyo – both additions are towards the beginning of this chapter  
  
AN: I would like to thank all the authors who have contributed to the works listed at the Temple of Ranma's Seifuku. This work is heavily inspired by several stories there and I apologize in advance for borrowing concepts and ideas from them. There are some great stories there and I highly recommend anyone reading this to browse through them.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not nor will ever own anything that appears in this fiction. I have no recollection of writing this or plotting to overthrow Cuba.  
  
Disclaimer II: I beg forgiveness for using the movie "Day after Tomorrow" A movie that is slightly less believable than sailor moon. Though I will only be using the bad science in the movie, and none of the bad writing or charecters that was in it.  
  
Chapter 1: The Great Ice  
  
Ranma sat on the train as it made its way south. Akane sat next to him by the window while Nabiki leaned against Kasumi in fitful sleep across from them. Kasumi gave him a small encouraging smile and he returned it. The older girl's ever present cheerfulness hadn't cracked in the crisis, but it was defiantly fraying around the edges. Especially when the train assignments had been announced. The young and healthy had been given first preference, which meant that they had to leave their fathers behind. Soun had charged him to take care of his girls and amidst the tearful goodbyes (especially Soun) no one had argued with him. Ranma wasn't particularly concerned about them, he seriously doubted there was anything that would kill his old man; the man was simply too good at surviving. With Genma to look out for him he had little doubt that Soun would pull through as well. He let out a muffled chuckle as he wondered what idiotic scheme his old man would pull to make his way to Kyushu.  
  
............................ [Self Defense Force Evacuation Staging Area, Tokyo]  
  
Corporal Yatsumuri fidgeted nervously as two officers from command inspected the convoy of ten trucks that were under his direction and among the last to be leaving Tokyo. This particular colonel had a glare that could strip paint off walls, even behind his glasses. The heavyset man moved as though he could back up his look as well. After an agonizing five minutes of inspection the colonel turned back to face him.  
  
"You seem to have done and adequate Job Corporal. Because the major and I were held up at command till the last moment; space will need to be made for the major, my wife, and myself on your trucks. I trust that it will not be a problem?"  
  
The corporal spared a quick glance towards the tall major and the elegant auburn-haired woman standing next to him by the lead truck before facing the colonel again.  
  
"No sir, we'll have to put you each in a different truck's cab and its going to be tight with riding three people up front, but we should be able to manage it."  
  
"Very good, make the needed adjustments. I want these trucks on the road in the next ten minutes."  
  
"Yes Sir!" The corporal sprinted off glad to carrying out orders instead of being under the colonel's stern gaze. After he departed the tall mustached man in a major's uniform walked over with a visibly frowning Nodoka. Soun's eyes sparkled with mischief.  
  
"So Colonel Saotome, I take it arrangements are being made for our departure?"  
  
Genma couldn't contain a small chuckle, the last time they had performed the self defense bit was back when they were training under the master.  
  
"Yes Major Tendo, our ride should be ready within the next few minutes."  
  
Nodoka continued to frown, but kept her peace.  
  
.................................  
  
Likewise he wasn't worried about the amazons. Cologne had survived for 300 years and she wasn't going to let her granddaughter die, though she might forget about Mousse.  
  
................................... [DELTA flight 620 to Sydney, 700 miles south of Tokyo]  
  
"I'm telling you, there's some Thing on the wing! I saw it, I'm not crazy. When the lightning struck I saw it! It was some horribly deformed thing!"  
  
The co-pilot rolled his eyes as he finished strapping the irrational passenger into his seat and watched as the sedatives that the flight attendant had administered began to take effect. After it had taken hold completely he briefly talked with a few of the passengers and then walked back up to the cockpit.  
  
Strapped to his seat and coming under the effects of heavy sedation George Anderson's head rolled to the side facing the window. He let out a gurgled scream of horror.  
  
Outside Cologne, protected by the elements and anchored to the wing with a shield of Ki, once again tried to ease her boredom by watching the in flight movie through the window.  
  
...............................  
  
What concerned him more was Ukyo. In the confusion of the past few days he hadn't thought to go check on her, and by the time he had they were rushing to catch their assigned train. Glancing around the compartment he was impressed by the composure people were displaying in light of the coming destruction. Sure there was fear and concern etched on nearly everyone's face, but it was tightly held, personal. He wondered how the other countries around the world were handling the crisis. He heaved a heavy sigh, in a way it seemed pointless. Even with the quick action and organization of the government he didn't fool himself into believing that the death toll from this disaster wasn't going to be catastrophic. There was only so much room and infrastructure available on Kyushu and it had been incredible good luck that the Tendos had been selected for an early train or even a train at all.  
  
He remembered watching the television in shock when the government had made the announcement. It was simply impossible to grasp that within the week Hokkaido and all but the southernmost part of Honshu were going to be encased in ice. What parts of Japan that was considered sub-tropical now, were going to have a climate that would make the northern parts of the Island of Hokkaido look temperate. It was this that truly concerned him, with so much of the worlds farmable land reduced to icy wasteland what were the survivors going to do for food? He was sure that the government had some sort of plan; he just had a dreadful idea that the plan included severely limiting the number of people evacuated and stripping the rest of the country of its stockpiles. Shaking his head, he leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes. The questions were too big for someone like him to worry about. He sent a prayer to those that did and tried to get some sleep.  
  
............................. [Cherry Hill Temple, Tokyo]  
  
Sailor Pluto looked down upon the courtyard of the Cherry Hill Temple with a sad satisfaction. The scouts and their families were putting the finishing touches on the small structure that would be the Tsukino family's sleeping quarters. Last month the scouts had finally revealed themselves to their families and with Pluto's help had explained to them the coming disaster. Since that time everyone had been busy getting together everything they would need to survive here. The scouts themselves had just finished completing the series of spells and environmental wards that would protect the temple from the coming ice and shelter this one small island of humanity. In the years to come the scouts would slowly excavate and rebuild the surrounding area which would one day form the heart of Crystal Tokyo.  
  
Her feelings couldn't help but be split, while she grieved for the loss of life that was going to occur around the globe she couldn't help but feel good about finally undertaking the first visible step towards her dream. Her grief was also mitigated by the fact that she had seen it coming for over a thousand years and thus any major feeling of loss had long since been experienced and put behind her. Still she was not made of stone. Knowing that in Japan alone 65% of the population was going to die within the next two days and that almost no one over the age of 40 in the evacuation areas was going to survive was hard knowledge to have. She was sure that Ami had a rough idea of what the casualties were going to be, Mercury had been decidedly downcast since the government had announced its evacuation plans late last week. The other scouts seemed to have buried the implications in their subconscious, busying themselves with readying the temple and trying not to think about it.  
  
She looked up as a particularly large piece of hail struck the magical dome that incased the temple grounds. The snow was already building up along the bottom edges of the shield, in a few hours in wouldn't be fit for man or beast outdoors and in another 12 the last vestiges of one of the super storms would pass directly over Tokyo, instantly freezing even those sheltered indoors. It was fortunate that the storm was going to swing to the southeast and miss Kyushu. For even as weakened as it would be by the time it got that far south, there would have not been much left of the Japanese people. Hearing Makoto call everyone to dinner Pluto resolved to stop brooding and try to enjoy the company of others for the first time in 2000 years. The future was set and there was very little that could disturb it now.  
  
Later she would vow to herself never to underestimate the phrase 'very little' ever again.  
  
........................  
  
It was six a.m. and Mamoru had woken up restless and disturbed. After fifteen minutes he had given up any hope of getting back to sleep so he stood on the temple wall and watched as the snow swirled violently against the shield just a few feet from where he was standing. Suddenly the wind settled down outside the dome and everything became eerily quiet. In the dim pre-dawn light Mamoru watched as the eye of the greatest storm in history passed over Tokyo. It would be the last thing that he ever witnessed.  
  
To understand what happened one has to visualize how the senshi had gone about constructing the magical barrier that protected the temple. Under Pluto's direction the scouts had linked together and cast a series of interlinked magical barriers molded after Saturn's silence wall. This was then reinforced by spiritually imbued wards placed at strategic locations around the perimeter of the temple grounds and in slowly tightening concentric circles around the main structures. To be on the safe side Pluto had warned everyone at dinner they should stay as close to the temple proper until after sunrise the next day. The person that had been destined to be the future king of earth, apparently missed the part about sunrise.  
  
At that moment the eye of the storm passed directly over the Cherry Hill Temple; the intensity of the cold air that had been pulled straight from the upper stratosphere stressed the magic of the shield to its breaking point. Along the perimeter several of the wards flared brightly before dissolving into ash causing the shield in those areas to buckle inwards fifteen feet before hitting the next circle of wards. Mamoru didn't have time to blink before being frozen solid. Under normal circumstances there would have been several things the senshi, with their combined powers, could have done to revive the popsicle formally known as Endymion. These were not however, normal circumstances. The earth was currently experiencing the greatest upheaval it had felt in hundreds of thousands of years and the energy that linked it with its avatar was frantic when its conduit suddenly died. And so before Usagi could stop screaming in her bed, before Pluto could check the gate to see what happened, before the rest of the scouts rushed to their princesses' side, the energy flashed out and forged a link with the first viable candidate that it found.  
  
Mores the pity.  
  
Chapter 2: Nice outfit...Does anyone know how to take it off?  
  
[Refuge Camp A26, Just outside Kagoshima, Japan]  
  
As the energy flashed out from the point of Mamoru's death it quickly found one with the potential to be its conduit. Unknown to all the scouts except Pluto it was actually quite rare for the avatar to be male, and having a male avatar severely restricted the amount of power that could be wielded. So the energy was pleased, if such emotion can be given to it, to find that the new conduit was the proper sex. It was half right.  
  
Ranma-chan stood staring out of the tent flap feeling cold, wet and miserable. Probably because that was exactly what she was at the moment. As the sleet came down it turned the refuge camp outside of Kagoshima into something slightly more hospitable than the seventh circle of hell. At least the small tent the four of them shared had a wooden platform to rest on. Looking over his shoulder he saw the Tendo girls involved in a high stakes game of go fish which Kasumi seemed to be winning handily much to the middle sister's chagrin and the youngest ire. Just as she was about to resume watching the sleet she felt the hairs raise on her arms as though she were about to be struck by lightning. Oddly enough that's exactly what it felt like when the energy reached out and burned the link to the planet into her. (Ranma having personal experience with exactly what a lighting strike feels like due to one of Genma's more delusional plans to toughen him up involving holding lightning rods on top of Tokyo Tower).  
  
The sisters watched in shock as a bright white light surrounded Ranma-chan and she lifted off the floor. Suddenly the light flashed brighter for a moment and Ranma-chan was suspended in the air with only the clothes that Jusenkyo gave her. Bright multicolored ribbons of energy sprung from thin air and began to wrap themselves around her as she slowly rotated. Before they could let out a gasp the process was over and a very different Ranma- chan fell to the floor of the tent, conscious but not entirely lucid. Kasumi rushed over while her sisters were still in shock.  
  
"Ranma, are you alright?"  
  
"Potatoes." With that Ranma gave up her struggle to stay conscious.  
  
...............  
  
[Cherry Hill Temple, Former city of Tokyo]  
  
"Setsuna, how could this have happened? How could you have missed this?" Rei asked since Usagi was wholly incapable of speaking without wailing uncontrollably.  
  
Setsuna gave a weary sigh, as though the weight of those thousands of years had suddenly come to bare on her. "In dealing with time nothing is ever set in stone, everything is probabilities. My work up to this point was to make Crystal Tokyo far and away the most likely probability to occur. The series of events and happenstance that led to Mamoru's death and inability to be revived was so unlikely that it never even showed in the gate."  
  
Ami looked up from where she was holding Usagi's hand. "Does this mean that Crystal Tokyo doesn't happen?" Everyone went quiet and turned towards the time guardian.  
  
"Actually no, I need to check the gates after things have quieted down but his death does not mean the end of Crystal Tokyo. It will certainly have an effect, how large of one we will simply have to wait and see."  
  
Everyone in the room nodded their head solemnly each occupied with their own thoughts.  
  
........................ [Tent 859, Refuge Camp A26]  
  
"Should we call a doctor?"  
  
"Great idea Akane. Doctor, Doctor our friend just became an urban legend and collapsed. Can you do anything for her?" Nabiki commented sarcastically.  
  
"Nabiki don't taunt your sister, now is not the time. However I think you are right, I think whatever happened just took a lot out of her. I think she'll wake up on her own." Kasumi said as she reapplied the damp cloth to Ranma's forehead. They had bundled her up in her sleeping bag after she collapsed and in the few hours since Ranma hadn't even twitched except the even rise and fall of her chest.  
  
Nabiki smirked, "He..She is really not going to be happy when she wakes up."  
  
Akane frowned a little and stared down at the beautiful girl. "Baka deserves it. He's probably being punished by a kami."  
  
It can be said that there is a fine line between punishment and blessing where the kami are involved.  
  
[10 hours later..]  
  
Ranma groaned as she came to, "Damn it pop, I told you it was a stupid idea..."  
  
Kasumi walked over and knelt down beside Ranma-chan. "How are you feeling Ranma? Do you hurt anywhere?" Ranma came back to herself a little more and focused on Kasumi's face.  
  
"Naw, I think I'm alright. Just sort of tired and sore all over. How long was I out? What happened anyway?"  
  
Kasumi hesitated for a moment and then smiled as she said, "Oh my, well Ranma-chan you lifted off the ground and became a magical girl."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Nabiki stepped into view, "Sailor Senshi actually."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Get up and see for yourself stud, or should I say babe. I think I found Victoria's next secret." Nabiki continued.  
  
Ranma quickly through the covers off of her, jumped up and stared down at herself in horror. The first thing she noticed of course were the clothes, how could one not. Replacing her Red and Black silks was a fuku: disturbingly tight, short, and with far to many ribbons for comfort. The body was white and hugged her curves and was adorned with two black bows trimmed in silver; one just beneath her breasts while the other trailed to long ribbons from the small of her back. The skirt matched the bows and Ranma tugged on it in a futile effort to try and make it more concealing. Her lower arms were encased in long white gloves that were trimmed and detailed in silver and black swirls, while her legs were in cased in matching black trimmed in silver high heeled boots. She looked up in panic and it got worse as she saw herself reflected in the hand mirror Nabiki had been hiding behind her back. Her hair now had to small braids, one that draped over the front of each ear while the rest flowed freely down almost to the small of her back. To Top it off was a silver tiara and a single red rose stuck in her hair above her right ear.  
  
"ACK, ack, ack....not happening, nightmare, gota be a nightmare..." Ranma mumbled incoherently for awhile before noticing something else, she was looking down a little on Nabiki and her eyes were now even with Kasumi's. "What, how, why?" Ranma finally asked plucking the rose out of her hair only to have another one materialize in its place.  
  
"We were hoping that maybe you could tell us that Ranma-Chan." Nabiki said oh so sweetly.  
  
"Why would I know anything about it? I'm a guy! If anyone should have turned into a magical girl it should have been Kasumi!"  
  
It was too easy, and Nabiki simply couldn't resist. "Why Kasumi? Why not Akane?"  
  
"She's too much of a sexless tomboy to be a magical girl." Ranma responded automatically before a look of anguish passed over her face. That was shortly followed by the real thing.  
  
"BAKA!" The result of which was Akane breaking the only mallet she had packed for the evacuation.  
  
Ranma groaned before pulling herself up in a sitting position. She nervously plucked at the outfit for a minute before turning to the sisters again.  
  
"So, ah..anyone know how to take this off?" 


	2. Chapter 3: Where Angels Fear to Tread

Updated Chapter 1 on 6/14/04 to include Genma and Cologne's Escape from Tokyo. These parts are located towards the beginning of that chapter and are important to understand parts of this one. Thanks for Reading.  
  
AN: Ranma Timeline (I have only read the manga and not watched the Ranma anime) – This story takes place after Herb, and just before Umi-sen-ken. So Ranma does not yet have knowledge of his mother (I'm pretending the short incident with his mother that happened sometime before the Umi-sen- ken never happened.)  
  
AN: Sailor Moon Timeline – This obviously takes place at the end of the series making the inner scouts the same age as Ranma (16). I will state now that I have very limited knowledge about the later seasons of the Sailor Moon anime, just what I have read and two episodes of stars, so Sailor Moon nuts might have to be a little forgiving.  
  
Ranma – A Senshi of Earth  
  
Chapter 3: Where Angels Fear to Tread. [Tent 859, Refuge Camp A26]  
  
Ranma paced the interior of the tent, a wave of dizziness passed over him almost causing him to stumble. It had been occurring whenever he was male since whatever it was had happened. The night he had transformed it had taken him two hours of trying before finally figuring out the mental trigger that released him from those ridiculous clothes. The sickness however was better than the near uncontrollable urge to find whoever it was he felt when in his girl form. It had been a week since then and when female it took nearly every bit of discipline to stop himself from leaving the camp and heading north. Someone was calling to him and whoever it was they were hurting badly. He couldn't help but feel that the person he was being drawn to knew the answers to his questions. He was stuck though. Until Soun showed up there was no way he could leave the girls, he had given his word to protect them. Growling in frustration he continued to pace again.  
  
"Ranma Stop That! Anymore of that pacing and I'll send you north by air, get it!"  
  
"Geez Akane, I can't help it okay. It would be bad enough to be cooped up in here without the weird stuff in my head."  
  
Akane's hand visibly twitched but she restrained herself from belting the Baka. After all, the tent would probably get damaged and she had no desire to spend the remainder of the year in a leaky one. "Ranma," Akane said in a strained voice, "just stop the pacing and be still. Write something in your journal, draw, play solitaire, try to find some new way of meditating, but for the love of kami-sama and your own body stop the damn PACING!"  
  
"Aren't we just the picture of domestic bliss." Nabiki said as she stepped into the tent followed by Kasumi.  
  
"Any word about Daddy or any of our friends on the boards?" Akane asked nervously as Nabiki and Kasumi set down tonight's ration of MREs and took off their ponchos.  
  
"Not yet Akane, but we did actually run into Sayuri in line. She's over in tent 530 with her mother. She said when the weather lets up she would try to come over." Nabiki said as she handed Akane her dinner. Akane smiled at the fact Sayuri was alright and even in the same camp, but frowned at the thought of not knowing what happened to her dad. "Don't worry Akane; I'm sure he's alright. I never thought I would say it, but for once I'm glad the panda came into our lives. He wouldn't have left father behind and he's sneaky enough to find a way into the camps, after all if he left father who would he mooch off of?" Nabiki reassured.  
  
Kasumi walked to the back of the tent to hand Ranma his dinner. "Oh my Ranma-kun, are you feeling alright? You look pale."  
  
Ranma took the dinner and set it down next to him. "I'm alright Kasumi. Just feeling a little queasy, it'll pass in a bit."  
  
Kasumi nodded, she had noticed this since Ranma had become a magical girl. It tended to get worse the longer Ranma went without being female. After a little while he could change back and be alright for a while before he started to get sick again. "You should really change Ranma-kun. You always feel better after you do."  
  
Ranma sighed, Kasumi was right, not that he particularly wanted her to be. He stood up and stuck his arm through the flap in the back of the tent. As the cold rain came down, he shivered and then felt his form change. Unlike before his girl body was now basically the same height as his boy form; it was the only good thing that had happened since the event. No longer looking up at everyone in the world was nice. She pulled her arm back in and dried it off on the towel that Kasumi handed her.  
  
"Thanks Kasumi."  
  
"You're welcome Ranma-chan. I'm sure that we will figure this all out." Ranma gave her a half smile before her stomach reminded her that she was no longer queasy and grumbled loudly. A decimated MRE package was soon the only evidence of her dinner.  
  
.............................. [Cherry Hill Temple]  
  
Pluto stepped out of the portal and sighed. The gates where still mostly useless due to the current upheaval but she had been able to get brief glimpses and they had been enough to confirm her suspicions. The power had linked with a girl. On one hand the new Sailor Earth would be significantly more powerful than Endymion would have ever been; which should help the scouts greatly. On the other she wasn't sure how the princess would take the news that she was now bonded to a girl. Just as the moon was bound to the earth by gravity the new scout wouldn't be able to help but feel Usagi and the opposite was equally as true. That link had been easily accepted by Usagi and Mamoru because of sharing it in a former life and the romantic involvement they had in both. How the two girls, complete strangers to one another, would react to having an irrevocable intimate bond between them that neither asked nor was prepared for she simply didn't know.  
  
Setsuna walked into the bedroom in the temple where Usagi had spent most of her time since Mamoru had died. The future queen was currently staring out the window towards the south.  
  
"I can feel her, somewhere off to the south I think. She's confused, anxious, bitter." Usagi stated in the voice and tone of Queen Serenity, another thing that had changed since Mamoru's death.  
  
"So you already know."  
  
"Yes. It's a strange feeling, having a stranger in my head, knowing only their basic feelings and none of the motivation or thoughts fueling them. I never really realized just how much passed unspoken between Mamoru and I until it wasn't there anymore. I suppose I can adjust, it's no stranger than the world has become. The only thing that troubles me is that every once in a while the feelings completely stop. The first time it happened I thought that whoever they were had died, but a few hours later they came back. It has since happened almost like clockwork every few hours and the first feeling to come through the bond every time it comes back is always resignation." She glanced over her shoulder towards Setsuna. "Were you able to find anything out at the gate?"  
  
Setsuna stood in silence for a moment pondering what Usagi had told her. The last part was a little troubling. She knew of very few things that could sever the bond between the earth and moon senshi, few of them left a person sane or alive at all, and none of them was temporary. "Nothing but vague images, there is still too much chaos from the freeze; it will take awhile for the time stream to settle down into what will become the most likely futures. I know that the new senshi of Earth has bright red hair. I was able to catch a brief glimpse of her in the gate. It will be several more days before I am able to get anything more concrete."  
  
"I understand, is there anything else?"  
  
"No, for the moment there is little to do but wait." Setsuna hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Usagi you should leave this room once in a while. The others are worried about you."  
  
"I know. It's hard, everything reminds me of him."  
  
In a rare show of emotion Setsuna stepped closer to Usagi and gave the shorter girl a comforting, if somewhat awkward hug. After a moment Setsuna pulled back and looked into Usagi's eyes. "Just don't lose yourself in there Usagi; there is only so much of Serenity that one can take."  
  
A ghost of a smile graced Usagi's face.  
  
.............................. [Rail Line, 80 miles northeast of the bridge that connects Honshu to Kyushu]  
  
Ukyo shivered as she braced herself against another gust of glacial wind. She felt a tug on her waist and suppressed her irritation as she pulled Ryouga back into line. There were about two hundred that had survived the train derailment. The survivors had tied themselves to each other in groups of five. Theirs had been the last train to depart from Tokyo before the brunt of the storm hit. As it was she doubted if half of those currently walking down the rails would survive the trip. She grimaced at the thought, but she was a practical person and the facts were not going to be denied. It was because of her practicality that she had been able to give Ryouga one of the yellow passes that guaranteed a person a space in the refuge camps on Kyushu. She had about thirty of them inside her pack. It had been distasteful, but the little yellow slips were simply too valuable to leave behind with people that would no longer be needing them.  
  
Ryouga stumbled as Ukyo once again jerked him back onto the tracks that they were following. He hoped Akane was alright, if Ranma had let her get hurt he vowed never to forgive him. It would be the thirty-fifth such vow he had made since this morning. He grimaced as he felt a snowball pelt him in the head, but decided it wasn't worth it to turn around and find the perpetrator. The giggling behind him was a big clue. Not far from where the train had derailed they had passed a small suburban train station and found the luggage cart that he was currently pulling. Said cart was filled with a group of eight children ranging from two to ten years old. Ukyo had conscripted him into being a draft horse as soon as she had seen it. He just hoped his luck held out as far as his curse was concerned. He had taken as many precautions as possible: goulashes, rain suit, poncho, and his ever present umbrella. Under other circumstances he would have worried about just how ridiculous he looked in said getup being led by a rope and hitched to a cart to top it off. He thought he would likely have to fall into a lake to trigger his curse. With that disturbing thought Ryouga decided to keep an eye open for said bodies of water.  
  
.................................... [Evacuation Command Center, Fukuoka, Island of Kyushu, Japan]  
  
Soun anxiously sipped coffee in the cafeteria of Fukuoka Command, formerly known as Fukuoka Center High School. Nodoka stood beside him and he was having an increasingly difficult time avoiding answering the woman's questions about her son.  
  
"My son must be quite manly for you to have entrusted the safety of your daughters to him?" Nodoka said in a way that was half a statement and half a question.  
  
Soun chuckled nervously; Genma had told him of the ill-fated pact concerning Ranma's manliness. "He is an exceptional martial artist Saotome- san, I'm sure you will be impressed by his skill in the art." Soun Hedged.  
  
Nodoka frowned slightly before stating in a quiet voice, "He should be, after ten years...." She then perked up. "Tell me, is he popular with girls?"  
  
Once again Soun let out a nervous laugh. "You could say that Saotome-san."  
  
Nodoka smiled and briefly descended into a fantasy about what her manly son was doing unsupervised, alone, and confined in a tent with Soun's three daughters. Images of grandchildren danced in front of her eyes for a moment before she spotted a panda in the uniform of a Colonel in the Self Defense Force walking towards them. Said panda was leaving a wake of stunned silence among the enlisted personnel running back and forth on various errands.  
  
Soun spoke first, his anxiousness for his daughters slightly besting Nodoka's for her Son. "Were you able to find out which camp they were assigned to?"  
  
The panda nodded and then whipped out a sign. =Yes, their train number was assigned to=, Flip, =Camp A26 down by Kagoshima.=  
  
Nodoka getting a little exasperated at communicating via sign with a panda grabbed Soun's coffee cup from his hand and threw its contents on the surprised and now scalded Genma.  
  
Genma, after frantically brushing off the near boiling liquid from his face, continued. "It will take a little more bluffing to get transportation there however. Don't worry not even this crisis will prevent the schools from being united!" Genma stated as he raised his fist in the air.  
  
"Husband, stop your foolishness. I've waited ten years and I don't want to be separated from my son a moment more than there is need to be."  
  
"Yes dear." Genma sweated, he still wasn't sure what he was going to do to prevent Nodoka from learning his son's secret. It had been impossible to hide his own curse from her, and had thus far told her that he was the only one that had been cursed in the springs. Even then he had very nearly been skewered for simply taking the boy to such a place.  
  
............................. [Ridge overlooking Kagoshima, Japan]  
  
Ranma stared down from the ridgeline at the city of Kagoshima and the bay beyond it. She was pretty sure that the city would become the focal point of what was left of the country. She could see the huge green spread that was the refuge camps encircling it like a hostile army preparing to lay siege to the town. She was cold, but it was the first day since they got here a week and a half ago that it hadn't been raining, sleeting, hailing, or snowing and no amount of cold was going to keep her in that tent today. The run from the camp and the climb up the ridge had done wonders to relieve some of her stress and brought her back from the brink of cabin fever. The officer in charge of their camp had given today as a free day, mostly to let the ground dry out some, but had told everyone to be sure to pick up their duty assignments for tomorrow when collecting dinner tonight. It was a smart move, both for the fact that there was a lot that needed to be done simply to maintain the vast camp and the fact that giving the people something to do would keep them out trouble and keep them from thinking about missing friends and families. So Ranma had fled the camp as soon as she could wolf down her breakfast and now stood watching as more and more small boats made their way into the harbor in the fading light of day.  
  
'Oh well, might as well do what I said I was going to when I left this morning.' Ranma thought as he took out a small pen that appeared in his hand after he had de-transformed. As soon as her hand wrapped around it a phrase jumped to the front of her mind. Even though she felt stupid she followed the subtle urging of her body's new instincts and raised the pen above her head and called out,  
  
"Earth Star Power, MAKE UP!" 


	3. Chapter 4: Reunions

= - panda sign {{ }} - Chinese  
  
Chapter 4: Reunions  
  
[On a Ridge Overlooking Kagoshima, Six PM]  
  
Ranma slowly opened her eyes and let out her breath slow and even. Try as her mind did, she couldn't keep a smile from inching up her face. As much as she wished she didn't she felt...the only word for it would be alive; more alive than she had ever felt. Her body was invigorated, flushed with energy. Whereas last week she had felt like she was being electrocuted, this time she imagined it felt like what it would if one grabbed a high power line and was able to accept the energy it delivered. Her senses tingled and fed her focused mind with more information than seemed possible. It almost felt that the environment around her was a part of her. For some reason she couldn't help but feel that someone was laughing at her.  
  
[Cherry Hill Temple]  
  
The scouts and their immediate family members were gathered around eating dinner when suddenly the quiet conversation was broken by a sound that they hadn't heard in almost two weeks, Usagi broke out into giggles.  
  
"Usagi-chan are you alright?" Ami asked with a cautious smile on her face.  
  
Nodding her head still smiling she responded, "Our new team mate just transformed for the first time, and as much as she didn't want to, I think she liked it." The other scouts smiled at this, each remembering their own first time, but more so they smiled because their friend was smiling again  
  
[Ridge]  
  
For a while Ranma simply stood and tried to get a feel for her new abilities and the information her senses were flooding her with. Then she started with the most basic kata she knew and slowly progressed through her entire inventory. After three hours of the basics she decided it was time to try out something else. Very cautiously she concentrated and started to glow blue.  
  
"Moko- Takabisha!"  
  
When she looked at the damage, it was fair to say that she was disappointed. She had been expecting a similar increase in power that her physical attributes had experienced. Instead her Ki-blast was no larger than normal. She spent the next half hour testing it and finally concluded that whatever the transformation did to her, it did not apparently significantly increase her Ki. By the time she stopped it was full dark and she hadn't even begun to sweat. In fact now that she thought about it she should be freezing in this getup, but was actually quite comfortable. As she started back towards the camp she admitted to herself something that she would never confess to another living soul. She liked the transformation. Reasoning with herself, 'I already turn into a girl, so turning into a powered up girl, why still sucking, was better than just being a normal one.' It was she reasoned, at least some sort of compensation for having no control over ones gender. Glancing down at herself she grimaced. 'This getup is a big mark against it, a really big one.' She paused in thought for a moment and then smiled, 'Oh well the life of a magical girl is fraught with peril. If nothing else it was sure to piss off pop.' With that pleasant thought she continued down the mountain. A few miles from camp she de-transformed with both relief and regret  
  
Ranma pulled aside the tent flap and smiled, there sitting crammed together on one cot was Mr. Tendo and the girls. He was dressed in an army uniform and currently being hugged vehemently by all three of his daughters. Still smiling she turned her gaze to the other side of the tent where her father was sitting nervously next to a stern looking woman that she had never seen before.  
  
"Hey pop glad to see that you made it." Ranma said in a tone of genuine affection, perhaps the second time in her life she could recall feeling that for her father. "I guess the uniform sort of gives away how you got here," Turning towards the woman she bowed, "Nice to meet you I'm Saotome Ranma. How did you end up with the old man here." Ranma inquired jerking a thumb towards her father.  
  
Now unlike her husband who exhibited all the signs of classic stupidity unless it involved eating, fighting, or surviving, Nodoka was in fact quite astute. Thus after her mind got over her initial shock it didn't take to long to connect the dots. Turning to her husband with eyes that promised painful death she growled. "Genma! What have you done?! Now I see what you two have been hedging around about this past week. How could you be so fantastically incompetent! After ten years of waiting for my son, instead I find that he has been turned into my daughter! Explain Yourself!....No never mind, if you value your panda hide you will not return until tomorrow, I need at least the night to think about this." She had hardly finished speaking before Genma bolted through the tent flap fast enough to leave an after image.  
  
The rest of the occupants of the tent stared in shock, but none more so than Ranma  
  
"Moth...Mom?" She hesitantly squeaked out.  
  
Nodoka took several deep breaths and calmed herself before turning towards the small voice. She took one long appraising look at the beautiful girl that her son had become, seeing the look of longing tempered with fear in those eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, decided it for her. She would worry about it later. Right now she was simply happy that he...she had somehow survived ten years of her husbands stupidity and was alive and well and most importantly standing right in front of her.  
  
Ranma gasped as she was suddenly swept into a fierce hug, after only a moment she returned with an equal strength. It would have been unmanly for her to have cried, so if anyone saw such tears they decided to omit them from their memory.  
  
[Somewhere Between Yamaguchi and Shimonoseki, 20 miles north of the Kamon Strait]  
  
Ukyo Sobbed as she finished untying the dead woman from her group. It just wasn't fair. She didn't know where along the line she had been elected leader of the refuges, but she was finding she didn't care for the position much. Pulling open the woman's backpack she rummaged for a moment before finding a small purse. Quickly taking off her gloves she searched for a moment before removing the woman's driver's license and refuge pass. It was less heartbreaking than the ones the voluntarily handed over their passes before untying themselves, but not by much. After placing them in her bag, she took a quick look at her visibly bluing fingers before pulling her gloves and mittens back on. The group she lead all had winter clothes, but still she wondered how many fingers and toes of those that made it would be lost to frost bite. Nervously glancing at her own feet she said a small prayer over the woman and she stood back up looking at the huddled group of people. The rest of them were pointedly looking away from her when she stood back up, but everyone waited for her to start walking again before falling in behind her. She wanted to shout at them that she was just a kid, that they couldn't just shove this responsibility off on her, that it wasn't fair. She didn't though, having someone to follow was the only thing keeping some of these people going, and besides since when had life been fair.  
  
[Sydney, Australia]  
  
Cologne sighed as she looked out across the harbor, Shampoo sitting next to her, quiet and still for one of the few times in the young girls life. It was times like these that she cursed her long life. Living through such times left scars that never faded away.  
  
{{Great-Grandmother, do you think that the tribe is alright?}} Shampoo asked in a subdued voice that Cologne found ill-fitting to her granddaughter.  
  
{{I am sure that the other matriarchs evacuated the tribe as soon as they were sure, I don't doubt that under their leadership the tribe made it to safety.}} Cologne responded with more confidence than she truly felt. {{After the world has found its new balance reuniting with them will be our first priority, but for now we have little to do but wait.}}  
  
{{Great-Grandmother, do you think Airen is alive?}} Shampoo asked even more hesitantly than her first question.  
  
Cologne actually laughed. {{Of that dear I have no doubt at all, I think there is very little that this world could throw at Son-in-Law that he couldn't dodge. Don't worry Shampoo, we will see him again. Of that I am also sure.}}  
  
Suddenly a white duck dropped out of the sky and landed at Shampoo's feet. Cologne cackled, {{I'm impressed Mr. Part-time, you maybe a fool, but you are a determined one.}}  
  
{{Stupid Mousse, why you come here? Even end of the world not stop you from bothering me!}} One might note the underlying affection and relief in her tone that belied the words.  
  
[Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library]  
  
Ami walked along the cold corridors of the library, passing row after row of frozen books and broken computers. The extreme cold of the storm had shattered all of the buildings windows and snow swirled freely through the corridors. The snow banks were so high outside that to even get in she had to walk through a third story window. This place was no longer a house for knowledge, but more a tomb for it. Pulling a medical book off a shelf she gazed at it a moment before opening it. When she tried to thumb through it, the pages either stuck together, cracked, or tore in her hands. It then struck her just how much had been lost in the coming of the ice. She stifled a sob and dropped the book, slowly sinking to her knees, before crying openly. Weeping for lost knowledge and lost dreams.  
  
Makoto found her there a few hours later and hugged her close for a long time before speaking. "Its hard Ami, but we can get through this. You have to believe that things will get better, even if you can't see how. In fact I think I know a smart person that might just come up with a way to save some of these books. Crystal Tokyo's going to need a public library."  
  
Ami smiled up at Makoto through her tears and hugged her again. "Thanks Mako-chan, I really needed that."  
  
Makoto simply smiled and draped an arm over Ami's shoulder and started leading her back to the temple. "Everyone losses hope now and then Ami- chan, that's what your friends are for. To give it back to you. Now come on, I left some cookies in the oven that should be burnt to a crisp by now."  
  
Ami laughed wiping away the last of her tears, "Sounds good to me Mako- chan."  
  
[Evacuation Command Center, Fukuoka, Island of Kyushu, Japan]  
  
Not fifteen minutes after that last woman had died they had been picked up by a self defense force patrol in a snow cat. They had ferried the survivors in groups to the Kamon Strait Bridge where a bus had been waiting for them. Ukyo had stayed to the last, trying to make sure that no one else succumbed to the cold. In the end she had handed over eighty yellow passes, fifty that she collected during the trek. It had been heart- wrenching couple of days, but she tried to tell herself that she should be glad that so many had made it. The thought was cold comfort to her. Ukyo sank gratefully onto one of the cots in the Command Center, a token of thanks from the government for leading the survivors of the train wreck to safety. They had allowed her a warm shower; given her someone's clean spare uniform, promised to try and find where her friends had been assigned, and a cot in a quiet teachers lounge. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.  
  
[Tent 859, Camp A26]  
  
Ranma fidgeted nervously as his mother looked over his male form for the first time.  
  
"My son, you're as handsome as a man as you are beautiful as a woman."  
  
Ranma, not knowing how to take such a compliment continued to fidget nervously. He was just glad that the Tendos had decided to leave and give the reunited pair some time alone.  
  
Over the next few hours the two of them filled each other in on their life since being separated. Needless to say it was a long and emotional night with laughter and crying in equal parts. By the end of it however Ranma and his Mother both finally felt a sort of closure to the emotional pain each had suffered since they had been separated from the other. It was three in the morning and the girls minus Soun came back to the tent.  
  
"You certainly have had an interesting life Ranma, I'm more proud of you than you can imagine that you turned out as well as you did with Genma as a role model. Is there anything else I should know before we turn in, were not going to be getting a lot of sleep as it is I'm afraid." The girls glanced nervously between themselves for a moment before looking at Ranma. Kasumi spoke first.  
  
"Did you figure out what you wanted to when you left this morning Ranma- kun?" Ranma nodded. "Then I think that you should show your mother, that way you can start over with a clean slate with each other."  
  
Ranma sighed and stood up from where he was sitting next to his mother. Walking over to a small plastic jug that held the remainder of yesterday's water ration he picked it up and poured it over himself. "Mom, I guess there's one more thing I gota tell ya. I promise that it's the last. Not long after we got to the camp something happened to me. We still don't know how or why, but, well I guess the only way to explain it is to show it." With that a small pen seemed to materialize in her hand and she raised it above her head.  
  
"Earth Star Power, MAKE UP!"  
  
Nodoka watched with shock and a bit of awe as Ranma-chan briefly lifted off the ground and was surrounded by swirling multi-colored ribbons. The girls, who had seen it once before, were only slightly less amazed by the transformation sequence. Then it was over and Ranma-Chan stood in the same white and black fuku combination they had seen almost two weeks ago. The skirt, gloves and boots ornately trimmed in fine silver and her silver trimmed black bows gracing her chest and trailing almost to the floor from her back. Perched in her hair just above her right ear was a single red rose, its deeper red accenting the more pronounced of Ranma's hair.  
  
Nodoka sat in shock for a full minute before regaining the ability to speak. "So my son does not simply turn into a girl," Nodoka then let out an uncontrollable giggle at the absurdity of that statement, "but a magical girl?"  
  
Ranma looked down at her feet and twirled the toes of her boots on the floor. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
Nodoka got up from her bed and hugged her changed child to her. Ranma tentatively hugged her mother back, still not overly comfortable with displays of affection, especially with the girls watching. Nodoka stepped back and rested her hands on Ranma's shoulders. "Don't worry yourself over this Ranma. After hearing of your life this latest revelation merely confirms to me that you have been chosen by the Kami for something. Though they seem to have more a sense of humor than even the stories about them would lead one to believe. I will accept you no matter where they may take you Ranma. Sometimes it is easier to bend, and I think that we will all have to become quite limber."  
  
Ranma sighed, "Thank you mom. I, well, thank you." Ranma finished lamely.  
  
Nodoka nodded and decided that they were not going to get any sleep tonight after all. "Ranma, there's one more thing we need to discuss. Ranma did your father ever tell you of a pact he and you signed just before you left on the training trip?" At the shake of Ranma's head she continued. "This is it," she said pulling out a small scroll, "I want you to know that I never would have enforced it, well I might still hold your father to it. I simply intended it to be a check on your father's idiocy. I see however that instead of limiting his foolishness it merely drove him to a new level of it."  
  
After Ranma had finished reading it with wide eyes Nodoka took it back and then tore it into small pieces. She then smiled at Ranma mischievously. "That's not to say that we still can't torture your father with it though is it?" Soon all five girls in the tent had equally devious grins. And a certain panda sleeping in the woods nearby came down with a fit of violent sneezing.  
  
[Camp A26, Late Afternoon]  
  
Ukyo hopped out of the cab of the truck and waved to the driver as he continued on his way. She had a brief pang of guilt that she had lost Ryouga somewhere at the Evacuation Command Center, but if anyone should be used to making it own there own it would be Ryouga. She looked down upon the see of green canvas and then at the sign proclaiming this to be Refuge Camp A26. Starting down the muddy path, she wondered how long it was going to take to find Ranma in this madness.  
  
Ranma looked up from she was eating her lunch ration. She felt a dark presence nearby and instinctively her fingers wrapped around a pen that was suddenly in her hand. She quickly got up and ran to her tent. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that the new feelings she had gotten since this all began were telling her she had to fight it. Once out of sight she pulled out her pen and still somewhat indignant about being forced to say such things, called out.  
  
"Earth Star Power, MAKE UP!"  
  
Ukyo was still looking for some sort of centralized information center when she heard the first screams. Un-shouldering her spatula she ran towards the sound she couldn't help but feel that the tone of feminine outrage was in some way familiar.  
  
Ranma and Ukyo, running from different directions both came to the main roadway that ran alongside the refuge camp at the same time, neither noticing that they were standing next to the other because both were voicing the same thought.  
  
"It couldn't be."  
  
"What a haul, what a haul!"  
  
It was. 


	4. Chapter 5: Leave Takings

AN: I would say thanks to all those reading this, especially every one that has posted a review for it. I appreciate the comments, encouragement, and have even gotten some good ideas from them. One comment lead me to create two entirely different versions of chapter 4 and it was a hard decision deciding which one to go with. Some parts from the alternate 4 may work their way in the fic later on. Anyway thanks for taking the time and on with the story.  
  
AN2: In one section of this story there is a fairly detailed description of the casualties of the disaster. I did a fair amount of research in coming up with the numbers I used, however I grant that they could be completely off and my estimates unrealistic. Before any are tempted to comment on my scientific accuracies, please remember that this is a fanfiction. Thanks again and enjoy.  
  
Chapter 5: Leave Takings  
  
Ranma snarled in a low tone, "Happosai." While a new voice in his head supplied a new word in an equal unpleasant tone, "Youma."  
  
Happosai was basking in the energy he was drawing off his 'silky darlings' as he ran without worry from the irate crowd of women behind him. He was quite shocked when his source of energy was knocked from his hands and before he could jump to retrieve it he found his foot pinned to the ground by of all things a red rose. Looking up he got a shock. 'A senshi? Here? This one is new; none of the others were ever fast enough to hit me.' He suspicions were confirmed when his attacker spoke.  
  
"Happosai! You are blight and affront to decency and women everywhere, and in the Name of the Earth I'll punish you!" Sailor earth followed up this dramatic announcement by slapping her hand over her mouth in what looked like shock. Happosai didn't have time to observe anything else however as the pursuing crowd of irate women descended upon him.  
  
Ranma simply stood there for a moment. She simply couldn't for the life of herself figure out what had possessed her to say that, or for that matter take up that silly pose while doing it. It had just simply happened as soon as she went to initiate her attack. By the time she came back to herself the crowd of women that had been chasing the old man, who apparently wasn't even human if his new instincts were to be trusted, had already commenced to beating the pervert flat. Now his perversion was cast in a new light. 'How long has he been a Youma?,' Ranma mused to herself. 'After the women are through with him, I'm going to have to interrogate the old man, Youma, whatever.' It was frustrating that an enemy might know more about what she should be doing than she did.  
  
Ukyo stared at the girl she suddenly noticed beside her. 'A sailor senshi! They're real, and one is standing right next to me!' Ukyo fidgeted nervously for a moment before getting up the courage to speak.  
  
"Uhm, excuse me, but I wouldn't be able to get an autograph or something could I? Its just so amazing, I thought you guys were an urban URK!" Ukyo suddenly found herself swept off her feet and being twirled around by said Sailor Earth.  
  
Ranma turned to the familiar voice as soon as she heard it, and after taking a moment for her eyes to confirm what her ears had heard she grabbed Ukyo in a bone crushing embrace and twirled the girl around.  
  
"UCCHAN! I'm so glad you're alright! Things were so hectic once the evacuation started that by the time I had a chance to think we were already on the train and I had given Soun my word to protect his daughters so I couldn't even go back to check on you. Kami it's good to see you!" Ranma finally finished twirling Ukyo and set the dazed girl back on her feet still smiling broadly knowing that her one real worry was now over. Ukyo stood stock still for a moment, before gathering her wits and peering closely at the senshi before her. Her face wore a puzzled frown before suddenly bursting into shock followed by uncertainty. "Ran..chan....is that you?"  
  
Ranma was puzzled for a half-second before groaning and looking down at herself and then back up into Ukyo's hesitant eyes. 'I'm certainly not going to have much of a secret identity if I keep doing this kind of thing.' Sighing he put her hand on Ukyo's shoulder and spoke quietly.  
  
"Yeah Ucchan, It's me. Please don't tell anyone about this, though who would believe you is beyond me." Then Ranma found herself the recipient of a fierce bear hug. After a moment Ukyo released her.  
  
"I can't believe it Ranchan; every time I think your life can't get any weirder you somehow manage to surprise me. This takes the cake though. When we find the time you'll have to tell me about it. Right now I'm just glad you're alright. You don't know what I went through to get here," Ukyo choked back a sob.  
  
Seeing the barely restrained distress on her friends face Ranma instinctively gathered Ukyo close to her. "It's alright Ukyo; I can always get Happosai another day. I think you and I should go somewhere and talk." Ranma pulled back and grabbed one of Ukyo's hands and started to lead her away from the crowd that was still occupied maiming what could no longer be readily identified. "Now let's get out of here before to many more people notice you talking with a sailor senshi in the street."  
  
Ukyo laughed and then followed as Ranma darted towards the woods on the other side of the highway.  
  
[Cherry Hill Temple]  
  
Pluto stepped through the portal with a frustrated scowl on her face. Almost two weeks since Mamoru's death and still the gates hadn't stabilized enough for her to be of much use to the princess. It was just one more troubling thing that concerned her about the new avatar of earth. There was little she could do about it now however and so she resolved to worry on her own time. Right now she needed to brief the princess and the other scouts about what she did know and what they needed to do to begin to set Crystal Tokyo in motion. Setsuna had de-transformed and gathered the eight other scouts in the room that they had traditionally used for scout meetings and had carefully schooled her face and distanced her personal emotions to prepare herself for delivering the news she was about to.  
  
"You all I imagine have some idea the scale of loss that the ice has brought about, I'm afraid that the loss is not over. Before I get to that however you should all know exactly what has already occurred. Last week in the northern hemisphere the casualties were catastrophic. In Canada and the United States, a combined population of 300 million, roughly 80 million made it to safe climates in Mexico and the southern reaches of the US. The casualty rate of Eastern and Western Europe, having no direct land route south, was substantially higher; Out of just over 570 million only about 30 million survived to safer climates. In Russia and the countries the comprised the Former USSR something less than 10 million survived out of 260 million. In China and central Asia above the 30th parallel the loss of human life was near total, leaving a population of roughly 600 million out of the former 1 and a half billion. Out of the 130 million people of this country 40 million have survived the immediate crisis. This leaves 760 million survivors out of more than 2.7 billion in the countries that have been most severely impacted by the ice."  
  
By now most of the scouts were sniffling quietly or simply seemed to be staring off in shock. The exception was Ami, who merely nodded somberly, having run simulations on the mercury computer much earlier than this. After giving them a moment Setsuna continued.  
  
"Unfortunately the story doesn't end there, and it gets much worse before there is any hope. The single largest factor that will affect the survivors of the freeze is the fact that most of the world's farmland has just been erased. The southern hemisphere has few areas that are suitable for growing staple crops. Africa and the Middle East will be the most effected by this, their current populations, plus the refuges from the north, far exceeding the lands food production. The least effected areas will be South America and Australia; however the entire world will feel the food shortage in one form or another. When you factor in the inevitable wars over resources, the relative lack of availability to modern medicine, and many others, the picture becomes grim indeed. The conclusion of this crisis, some ten to fifteen years distant, is a total world population of 600 million and a Japanese population of 25 million; about 10% of the world population two weeks ago."  
  
"Isn't....Isn't there anything we can do?" Minako choked about between sobs while Rei leaned over and brought the girl into a tight embrace. Setsuna hated this, but she shored herself up and continued, she had to let them know there was a purpose to what they were doing.  
  
"Regretfully there isn't much we can do to affect the numbers I just gave you, even with our abilities; the forces behind them are simply too great to overcome." She paused for a moment and continued in a more clear and determined tone. "What we CAN do is lay the groundwork for future prosperity. We have the next ten or so years to reclaim as much of Tokyo as we can, using what we can scrounge from the city, our magic, and what silver millennium technology that we can reproduce. Once we have achieved what we can here, we will then make contact with a few of the more stable governments that will have formed and offer alliance and assistance to them. If we play our cards right and are cautious with whom we share resurrected technology, we can stop the downward spiral of human civilization sometime within the next twenty years instead of it continuing for hundreds. That is what we can do, we can't save those I mentioned, but perhaps we can save the survivors and the future."  
  
All of the scouts were now fully focused on Setsuna and through their tears Setsuna could see a new determination. She didn't think she had ever been more proud, nor felt more fulfilled than she did at that moment, looking at their faces. In the years to come, when things were there bleakest, she would often think of this moment to garner the courage to continue.  
  
Usagi spoke and when she did it was in a voice that was both Serenity and Usagi, and for that Setsuna was also thankful. "Where do we start?"  
  
[Somewhere Else]  
  
Ryouga walked down the unfamiliar highway in despair, as the snow swirled around the barren dessert landscape. Somewhere in the deepest part of his heart, he knew this was Ranma's fault.  
  
"Where in the hell am I NOW!?"  
  
Coming to a four way intersection he glanced at the road sign that had was bent at an angle and looked as though it had seen better days. His despair grew when he saw that the sign was in English. An arrow pointed to the left next to a long word he didn't know  
  
{Albuquerque 10mi}  
  
Later that night shivering from the cold as he dug himself into a snow bank to shelter from the wind, he knew he should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.  
  
[Ridge outside of Kagoshima]  
  
Ranma sat down on an overturned tree near where she had first practiced in her transformed state. Ukyo sat down next to her still not quite believing that it was Ranma in the very feminine outfit. 'Ranma a Sailor Senshi, Japan under ice, that teenager freezing in the snow asking me to make sure her sister was ok,' she sobbed, 'has the world gone completely insane?' She felt Ranma's small arm fall across her shoulder and she leaned into him and cried. When she quieted down the two of them simply sat in silence for a long time before Ranma spoke.  
  
"Ucchan, why don't you tell me about it?"  
  
And so she did.  
  
[Cherry Hill Temple]  
  
Michiru found Hotaru sitting on a bench underneath the large sakura tree that was in a secluded corner of the temple grounds. She quietly walked over and sat down next to her, simply waiting.  
  
"I don't know if I can take it Mom. All those people, why did things have to be this way, wasn't there anything we could have done?" Her voice had an air of frantic despair to it as she continued. "I can destroy the world, why can't I save it? Oh god Mom I miss Usa. She was my friend and now she won't ever even been born. The only real friend I ever had, never existed! How did things get like this Momma?"  
  
"Hotaru, there are questions that can never be answered. Sometimes we have to leave those questions to the higher powers to answer. Even as powerful as we are Hotaru, sometimes the world is going to show you how small you are. Never forget about your friend Hotaru. She was a kind and beautiful person, and no matter what has happened, she impacted our lives for the better and so she will always exist in our hearts, as long as we don't forget what she taught us." Michiru paused for a moment to keep her composure. "Usa would understand you being sad Hotaru, but she would also want you to go on, and be happy." Michiru stood up and pulled Hotaru up and into a hug. "I don't know when that will be Hotaru-chan, but I have faith that there is happiness in our future."  
  
"Thank you Momma," Hotaru whispered into her adopted parent's hair, "I'll try."  
  
"That's all anyone can ever ask Hotaru-chan."  
  
[Refuge Camp A26]  
  
In the woods just outside the refuge camp Genma and Soun sat in a tent that they had 'procured' from the camp's central supply. Somewhere they had even managed to find a shogi board.  
  
"Saotome, what should we do about the engagement. This situation has complicated matters." Genma placed a tile in the center of the board, whether it had been on the board before this move was anyone's guess.  
  
"I don't know Tendo, but I know my wife." Genma shuddered, "We will have to wait until she has calmed down some before pressing the engagement. Besides Tendo this crisis will undoubtedly draw our children closer together!"  
  
"Quite right Saotome, the stress and shared labors of surviving will pull them together like people gathering together around a fire on a cold night; our children will draw close to bask in the warmth of their love for each other!" They both pumped their fists into the air.  
  
"The Schools will be joined!"  
  
[Refuge camp, Late Evening]  
  
Ranma and Ukyo walked back into the camp, both with somber smiles on their faces. Ranma having since de-transformed and actually having found some hot water at the mess on the way in, was once again male. When they pulled back the flap to Ranma and the Tendo's tent they were greeted by his mother and the three girls.  
  
"Ukyo-chan!" Kasumi said excitedly as she came over and hugged her, "it's good to see you. I am very happy that you made it."  
  
Nabiki then walked over and shocked everyone by hugging the girl briefly before pulling back. "It is good to see Kuonji-san. It somehow seems more like home now that Ranma has more than one fiancé again." This caused everyone, even Akane, to break into a brief chuckle. Akane then came over and hugged her as well.  
  
"Well Ranma are you going to introduce me to this lovely young woman?" Nodoka asked as she stepped forward.  
  
"Mom this is Kuonji Ukyo, she's my best friend from when I was six; Pops engaged me to her."  
  
Ukyo sketched a bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you Saotome-san."  
  
Nodoka smiled, "Just call me auntie dear, it is a pleasure to meet one of my child's friends." Ranma winced, not once had his mother called him her son. It was always 'my child.' 'Does she think I'm not a man because of the curse? Maybe I am a disappointment to her.' Nabiki noticed the wince and made a few guesses, making a not to talk to Ranma about it later, possibly have Kasumi talk to him about it.  
  
"I can see we are going to have to request another tent. The six of us in one tent might get a little crowded after a few nights." Nabiki said.  
  
Ranma hesitated and then spoke, "Actually that might not be an issue. Now that your and my father is here, well I am still having those feelings that are coming from somewhere up north. I just know that whoever is behind them knows why I became what I did. I just have to go." This statement of course was not well received.  
  
"Ranma you know what I went through to get down here, and now that I'm here and reunited with you; you want to go off on some trek into the unknown." Ukyo accused scowling.  
  
"My child I to have reservations about this, we have just been brought together after all these years, and going north will be very dangerous."  
  
Ranma looked guilty and flustered, "but I have to go. Don't you see it's driving me nuts not just the call, but not knowing why. Besides when I'm, um, transformed, I don't even feel the cold at all."  
  
Nodoka sighed, "I understand Ranma. Why doesn't everyone sleep on it tonight, and if you still feel compelled to go in the morning. I will wish you well. But if you do leave I expect to here from you as soon as possible. I will not be separated from you again like last time."  
  
"Mom, I promise."  
  
"Very well, why don't we all collect our ration of rice for this evening and settle down for dinner together." Everyone, especially Ranma, was agreeable to this idea.  
  
[Tent 859, 8 pm]  
  
Ranma looked at her cards carefully, having elected to turn female earlier so she could enjoy her dinner without the queasiness that came with being male.  
  
"Bullshit!"  
  
Nabiki smirked, "Sorry Ranma, pick'em up." Ranma sighed in frustration as she picked up the pile of cards. Nodoka looked at her cards and then laid down two.  
  
"Two Jacks."  
  
Before Ranma could check recently acquired inventory of cards, she felt a sudden presence at the edge of her perception. Dropping her cards her hand once again instinctively found her henshin pen.  
  
"Ranma," Nodoka said in an inquisitive tone, "is there something wrong?"  
  
Ranma absently nodded her head as she stood up. "Happosai's back. There's something you all should know, if the new feelings I have gotten are right, then he's not even human. I've got to go stop him."  
  
"I'll go with you Ranchan," Ukyo said grabbing her spatula she had laid on the ground  
  
"Me too," Akane said as she cracked her knuckles.  
  
Ranma shuffled her feet nervously, "um I kinda got to do this, um, transformed, and maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for him to associate you guys with the senshi. If he escaped he is one person I really don't want knowing my identity."  
  
Nodoka spoke before either of the girls could protest. "I think Ranma is right. This is her battle and I think it would only endanger you and her if either of you girls went. Be careful Ranma."  
  
Ranma nodded, "I will Mom."  
  
"Earth Star Power, MAKE UP!"  
  
As the transformation washed over Ranma, Nabiki took a careful look at everyone's reactions. Something she didn't miss was Ukyo's wide stare and rising blush. 'Hmmm, now that's interesting.' Nabiki mused quietly to herself, "something to defiantly keep an eye on."  
  
Ranma stalked quietly through the night getting close to the dark feeling until suddenly she saw him slipping out of one of the tents with a large bag on his shoulder. Mentally clamping down on the urge to announce herself she launched a flying kick at the pervert. The kick was deftly deflected with a pipe at the last moment sending Ranma crashing into the side of another tent, knocking it over. Leaping back to her feet she pulled the rose from her hair and then another and another as she sent them rapid fire towards Happosai who was forced to give ground as he twirled his pipe to deflect the deadly flora. Ranma stopped throwing roses but kept up her attack forcing Happosai out of the camp and into a recently cleared field that was being prepared for habitation. Ranma Connected a magically enhanced kick to the freak's mid section causing him to fly back twenty feet leaving a furrow in the ground.  
  
Happosai coughed and got back up to his feet, appraising his opponent.  
  
"Well now girl, why haven't I ever seen you before. You're quite a bit more skilled than your friends."  
  
"Quiet old man, tell me, where you ever human?"  
  
"Oh yes, I was once as human as you. I had to make a deal to get out of a cave a couple of ungrateful students of mine locked me into. I never much cared for my humanity anyway, and she doesn't ask for much."  
  
"Who's 'She'?" Ranma asked  
  
"Now that would be telling." Happosai sneered before yelling "Happo- daikarin!" and launching the explosive at Ranma. Ranma leapt to the side, flung her arms forward and called out something that had just appeared in her mind.  
  
"Rose Tempest!"  
  
A whirlwind laced with magically enhanced rose petals flew from Ranma's finger tips and slammed into Happosai, blowing him into a stack of tent frames as the petals cut anything they made contact with. Running purely on instinct Ranma pulled another Rose from her head and launched it as hard as she could towards the slowly standing form of Happosai. The Youma that had once been the Grand-Master of Anything Goes didn't even have a chance to cry out before his heart was impaled by the flower. Ranma stared in shock at what she had done as the perverted master fell to his knees before dissolving into a black mist.  
  
Sailor Earth had the sudden distinct need to rid herself of dinner's rice.  
  
[Tent 859, sometime later]  
  
Everyone was still awake and talking quietly when Ranma came back in, once again in normal clothes and male. They all noticed his pale complexion and somewhat haunted eyes.  
  
"Ranma-kun," Kasumi said softly, "are you alright?"  
  
Ranma nodded and went over to his cot. "I'm fine Kasumi, just; I don't want to talk about it."  
  
Sensing Ranma's mode everyone decided that the questions could wait until morning.  
  
That night Ranma dreamed that of a blonde-haired woman that comforted him and eased his guilt over the killing. When he woke up he only remembered parts of it, but the surprising thing was that he did feel better, as though confessing to the dream girl had given him some sort of absolution.  
  
[Five miles north of Refuge Camp A26]  
  
Ranma glanced once again at his two companions; the result of a lengthy debate that had consumed most of the morning. Ukyo had simply refused to be left behind and Akane had been drafted into the trip by their fathers. One might have noticed that her protests seemed a bit weaker than was her want. Ukyo had dropped a few names from the people she had met in the Evacuation Command Center, and gotten them three sets of expedition grade clothing and gear for the trip. Ranma wandered once again where his life was taking him and just what kind of trouble he was leading his fiancés into.  
  
[Somewhere Else]  
  
A shadowy figure approached the stone alter where a light shimmering in the air denoted some presence.  
  
"Mistress, Happosai has failed to deliver the energy he was assigned to collect."  
  
A voice, both terrifying and beautiful responded seemingly from everywhere within the chamber. "Yes, I felt his connection with me severed late last night. If Happosai has been eliminated and our influence in him discovered we may have to move up our plans. Keep me informed of our other agents' progress and discretely investigate the area of Happosai's disappearance. Do not under any circumstance allow yourself to be discovered, if you are the punishments will be more than your worst nightmares can conjure."  
  
"Yes Mistress." 


	5. Chapter 6: Journeys

AN: Well, back writing after hiatus. This is a much shorter version of this chapter than I anticipated, much of what I had written just didn't seem to fit as well as I would have liked and it had to be scrapped. Thank you very much once again for all of your reviews, I appriciate them greatly and they have conistantly helped me shape my stories better. Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 6: Journeys

35 mi SE of Oita, Kyushu Is. Japan

Ranma sometimes wondered if the universe saved up all the awkward situations that it was supposed to allot to everyone and just decided to simplify the task by heaping them all on her. How else she mused could she end up in the situation she was in now. On her left Akane, to her right Ukyo, and in-between with scarcely two inches of clearance on either side. A magical girl sandwich with rival fiancé bread. The tent shuddered as another powerful gust of wind buffeted the outside. As the two girls snuggled closer to her in their sleep she was left wondering which she would be hit by come morning. Nabiki would have given him 3 to 1 on Akane.

Oh it all made sense, and that was the damnable misery of it. It made sense that they travel together, with three people together the chances of one of them dying by accident or exposure was much less than if any of them had attempted the trip themselves. This is of course baring the argument that neither of the two girls would be here if it wasn't for Ranma. It made sense that she mostly travel and sleep in her senshi form; when in her guise she wasn't affected by the cold and all of her senses were heightened. Thus if their camp were approached they would have that much more warning, though who besides them would be out in this forsaken weather she wouldn't hazard a guess. It made sense that they shared a tent, it decreased the weight they carried tremendously and the shared warmth of the three bodies in the tent would make it more comfortable to the girls.

'Everything makes sense, except that it's all so screwed up,' Ranma thought disconsolately. 'Why am I out here, who is this person that is pulling me to the north, and most of all why me?' As she shifted slightly and once again tried to get to sleep she wondered if she would once again dream of the pleasant blond woman and her soothing voice.

Ukyo silently sighed relief when she heard Ranma finally drift off to sleep. As they always did her doubts came to haunt her in the night. 'What am I doing out here? I spent the worst week of my life trying to reach the safty of the refuge camps and I'm Barely there a day before I charge of into the frozen countryside again. Was the Jackass worth risking everything for time and time again when the feelings never seemed to be returned, at least in the way she wanted them to be? And that was not even taking into account that this whole trip was completely insane from the get go. Ranma's being psychicly called somewhere from the north and the three of us just abandon what little haven is left in the world to follow a feeling. It was ridiculus. With my luck it's proabably another beautiful finance that I will have to compete with.' Ukyo audibly groaned at that thought. 'Why?'

A small voice answered back they way it always did. 'You love her.' As always those three little words stopped any mental debate she had with herself and with a mental sigh of resignation she scrunched deeper into her sleeping bag and tried to get some sleep.

'Wait a minute!... Love HER!'

As Ranma flew through the air a small smile tried to inch up her face. It seemed that even the end of the world couldn't change his tomboy. This thought was abrubtly cut off as her head impacted a snow bank. 'Oh well might as well follow tradition.'

"What'dya do that for!"

"Baka Ukyo's got breakfast ready and were not going to wait for it to freeze just so you can sleep the day away."

Ranma watched Ukyo scowl as Akane stomped back towards the fire and watched as that scowl instantly became a smile as she turned towards her excavating herself from the snowbank. There's something to be said about routine, there's comfort in it in stange times. Which is why Ranma hadn't said anything about her rude wakeup calls these past three days on the road. She had in fact been awake for twenty minutes, it being hard to stay asleep in a cramped tent with two people trying to get dressed and arguing with each other, she just couldn't bring herself to giveup the familiarity of her Akane wakeup call. As if disrupting the routine they had fallen into would somehow jinx the day.

Walking over to the fire she grabbed the small pot that had been set at the edge and after detransforming she gently poured just enough of the water over her head to change. This had also become routine, having found that he got more time as a male before the pains started coming after all night spent sleeping as a senshi. Sitting down on a small log they had rolled up next to the fire last night he happily started to scarf down his breakfast Okyami. It had been agreed before they left that Ukyo would be doing the majority of the cooking, Ranma would do the clean up, and Akane would stay the hell away from anything to do with the food. Ranma still bore some bruises from that discussion. After breakfast was finished and the camp broken down they sat back down and discussed what the plan for the day was.

Breakfast was eaten with an almost pleasant conversation/commiseration before camp was broke and they walked back out to the snow covered highway. Ranma wondered if they should continue to follow the road to the west and take the bridge to Honshu, a significant deviation from the steady NNE pull, or if they should try to find some sort of boat and risk the frigid waters. Sometime before the day ended they would have to decide. She desperately wanted to take the faster boat route if possible, but she also feared risking it with Akane and Ukyo. Deciding that they would at least go to the coast and see what kind of boats might be available, they set their course.

National Advanced Composites Laboratory, Former City of Tokyo

Sailor Moon looked up from where she was clearing snow from the third floor corridor.

"She's defiantly getting closer Pluto; I think she's bringing someone as well." Pluto turned her head from the sheet of plywood that she had just secured over a shattered window.

"That's good to hear. I was beginning to think we might need to go to her, and it is just as well that she is bringing someone. It will most likely make her more comfortable as well as having someone here to work for until she accepts becoming part of the team."

"Must you always be so calculating Pluto?" Pluto looked slightly chastised.

"I'm sorry princess, old habits."

Usagi smiled, that Setsuna had even apologized showed that she was beginning to warm up and be a real human being again. In Usagi's eyes Pluto needed to undergo a fundamental shift in thinking. Pluto had worked to make Crystal Tokyo happen because she thought of it as her duty and the Sailor's destiny. If there was one thing that Usagi had learned from Mamoru's death was that nothing was destined. They couldn't found Crystal Tokyo on assumptions as mistaken as that. All the scouts needed to realize that they were not creating Crystal Tokyo for any other reason than to service mankind, to bring light back into the world. She was determined to do as much as she could, but no more than the world wanted. Usagi was no stellar student of history, but it worried her how many evils had been created from the best of intentions. With intentions as ambitious as theirs if any of them stepped from the path the whole world would only suffer more.

Sailor Uranus, her face covered in grease, smiled grimly in the semi-darkness of the sub-  
basement. The only illumination coming from portable fluorescent lanterns placed around the room. It had taken her three days, but she thought she finally had the beast whipped. The room was currently the only place besides the temple that the scouts had expended the time and energy to erect an environmental shield around. The simple reason being that the old diesel generator was not even going to think about starting until the room was brought back above freezing. Crossing her fingers she primed the fuel line and pushed the ignition. The engine coughed and turned over for a full thirty seconds before Hakura stopped to prime the fuel line again and adjust the air mixture. As it looked to stall out again she forgot crossing her fingers and gave a mighty kick to the thing. The engine caught and she smiled triumphantly as the overhead lights flicked for a moment before burning strong.

Sailor Mercury smiled as the lights came on in the materials lab. Much of the equipment had been ruined, and she expected to be scouring the building and the city for all of the things she would need. Those that she couldn't find she would have to fabricate herself, something she was hoping wouldn't be necessary. The lights felt like victory though, as if the electricity itself was a harbinger of hope. A symbol of what they hoped to return to the world. It would all begin here. She was a little bit nervous about the amount of responsibility that hung on her shoulders. If they were going to bring back the crystals that were the core of every silver millennium technology, it would be in this lab and it would be her to do it. Taking a big breath and slowly releasing it she sat down and got to work.

Refuge Camp A26

The shadowy figure walked through the moon lit field; suddenly it turned and knelt down beside a patch of grass that looked as though it had been exposed to some sort of defoliant. The figure ran a ghostly hand over the dead blades and then brought it up and smelt the palm. It nodded to itself; this is where the one known as Happosai had been severed. Looking at the area closely it spotted something lying in the grass nearby. As the figure picked up the rose it could still feel the magical essence about it, slowly being leached out by the surrounding atmosphere. A rose, what would he have been doing here alone, and so far from his princess. It didn't make sense. Tomorrow it would assume a human shape and discreetly ask around, this riddle needed to be solved and quickly.

Kyushu Coastline 20 mi SE of Oita

Ukyo looked over the small marina and tried to see if there were any boats she would feel safe on in the Philippine Sea. Having trained by the sea for years, she had picked up a surprising amount from the people she sold Okynami to. Automatically she eliminated any of the motor yachts. She didn't have any mechanical experience and she doubted if either Ranma or Akane did either. No way was she was going to trust an engine when anything resembling a coast guard was a thing of the past. If they went out they would be on their own out there, and she didn't want something that could break down or run out of gas. That left the sailing yachts. After eliminating anything under thirty feet as two small they were left with two choices. The first was a modern fiberglass catamaran that looked as if it had a large cabin and a shallow keel, perfect for costal cruising with the family, but not the type of boat to truly trust in the open water. The other looked as if it had been made at the turn of the century. Ukyo could tell even from here that the hull was wooden, the design more round and blocky than boats made in the past few decades, it still looked as if it was in passable condition.

"Let's go check out that one," Ukyo said pointing to the old yacht.

"Why the old one Ucchan?"

"It's either that one or," She pointed to the catamaran, "that one, and the cat doesn't look like it was really made for rough water. I hope we don't run into any, but I would rather be in something that was built for it just in case."

Ranma nodded his head, having decided to spend as much time male before being surrounded by nothing but cold water for days. "Sounds good to me Ucchan."

Akane simply frowned, just once she wanted to be the person Ranma turned to for advice. 'Why it that everyone interested in Ranma was better than her in everything?' She wondered, 'and why does it matter to me so much?'

An American flag, flapped fitfully in the cold wind as they came aboard the Elizabeth. The boat sparkled in the early morning as the light hit the ice covered railings. Their feet made small crunching noises as they stepped on deck, the sea spray gradually building up a layer of ice on every exposed surface. Ukyo knelt down on the deck and looked at the wood, brushing her hand across it.

"Teak, this boat would cost a fortune to construct today. But it also is a good sign; teak is very durable and weather resistant. Not very surprising, as old as the boat looks I don't think many other types of wood could have survived. We're going to have to scrape off all this ice though, and its going to be a full time job keeping it off as cold as it is."

The cabin of the boat was in disarray. Apparently the owners had left in a hurry. The small table was overturned and cabinets and drawers were all left open their various contents strewn about the room. A plate full of spaghetti sat frozen solid in the sink while another was frozen to the floor. Ukyo came back up from a hatch in the floor.

"Everything looks okay down here Ranma; If the sails are ok I don't think your going to get much better. You sure you want to do this?"

Ranma hesitated for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I mean we'll be traveling for weeks on the road, but if we follow the coast we can make it in a few days by boat. Something keeps telling me the sooner we make it to where we're going the better."

"Ok sugar, why don't the three of us go topside to check the sails and then if there okay we'll spend the day cleaning up the inside and seeing if any of the other boats in the marina have anything that might come in handy."

Ranma's ego was telling him that this was his trip and he should be making the decisions like that, but Ranma was enough of a survivalist to know when to defer to someone with more experience. Ukyo clearly knew her way around the ocean; a mischievous smile inched up his face before he came to attention and saluted, "Aye, Aye Captain!" This caused Ukyo to laugh and Akane to smile for a moment before frowning slightly. 'Ranma would never have deferred to me like that, oh Ranma what is it about me that makes you treat me like you do?' Akane thought as she followed Ukyo and Ranma back above deck.


End file.
